November 28, 2016, Issue 528
Beyond The Kennedy Administration
After a radio career spanning 40 years, Country Radio Hall Of Famer, Steel City/Kansas City VP/Programming & Operations and KBEQ PD Mike Kennedy is retiring at the end of the year. Country Aircheck asked him about his plans, what he’ll miss, what he won’t and if he’s now free to finally speak his mind. CA: Why now? MK: I’ve had this on the runway for the last couple years. When Steel City took over it didn’t feel like the right moment to leave. I probably over-thought it, but I didn’t want anyone to perceive a message in the timing of my departure. This company is really a bunch of tremendous human beings and I’ve loved the opportunity to get to know them. I talked to [VP/GM] Marc Harrell about where my head was and have spent the last year getting everything in order. There was no magic chain of events, but I knew if I didn’t set a date and work toward it I’d just keep going indefinitely. What will you do? I have absolutely zero plan. Nothing grandiose. I have some ridiculous minor plans – I’ll spend some time out of the city in January. When I get back I have some things to do around the house and I’ll jump in to help my mom out a little more. She’s close by, 81 and totally capable, but I can help her accomplish a few things. My wife does mornings at the Entercom cluster. She’s six or seven months into a new deal there, so I have no desire to go anywhere else. I will spend some more time in Nashville, much to Mike Kennedy my daughter’s dismay. Maybe I can do the wedding planning! [Ed. Note: Kennedy’s daughter Abby Law is engaged to Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers.] You transitioned out of mornings about a year ago. What was that like? That goes back to the question about timing. Coming off the air extended my ability to make it another 13-14 months. As you can imagine, it’s really hard to slow down when you’re doing a morning show. Five hours of that, then put on the PD hat and keep going for the rest of the day ... plus, (continued on page 4)
Sweet Sleep: BMLG Records’ Brett Young (seated, center) and team celebrate his first No. 1 “Sleep Without You.” Pictured (standing, l-r) are WME’s Risha Rogers, manager Enzo DeVincenzo, the label’s Angie Coonrod, WME’s Barrett Sellers, the label’s Lauren Longbine, Big Machine Music’s Alex Heddle and Mike Molinar, BMLG’s Andrew Thoen, engineer Justin Niebank, producer Dann Huff and the label’s Matthew Hargis; (seated, l-r) are Sandi and Scott Borchetta, Young, the label’s Jimmy Harnen and BMLG’s Laurel Kittleson.
Season’s Greetings
By this time tomorrow (11/29), the organizers of Light The Row hope Music Row will become Music Glow. The holiday campaign, spearheaded by iHeartMedia GSM/Nashville Region Melissa Kent, is more than just a call to hang lights outside each Music Row business. “We don’t know our neighbors as well as we should,” says Kent. “We’ve been here for a couple of decades. I’ve personally worked on Music Row for 12 years. We know our label and publishing partners, but we don’t know who’s running this barber shop down the road Melissa Kent or who’s across the street. So we wanted to get
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